Name: Vanguard Joins BlackRock to Cut Back Support for Shareholders' ESG Proposals
Uploaded: 2023-08-30T03:16:56.000Z
Description: Index fund giant Vanguard on Monday said it has narrowed support for shareholder resolutions on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, backing only 2 percent of such proposals at company meetings across the United States during the 2023 proxy season.

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

NTD Plus

News

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

Smart Spending: How to Save on Summer Travel

UAE Suffered More Iranian Missiles Than Israel, Paving Way for Iron Dome: Analyst

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

Washington Event to Rededicate US as ‘One Nation Under God’

Best-Selling Author Concerned Christians May Be Next in China’s State-Sanctioned Organ Trade

Jason Perry is an Army veteran and NTD's National Security Correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Jason primarily covers border security, national defense, foreign wars, and veterans' issues.

Jason Perry

Pentagon Paves the Way to Buy 10,000 Containerized Missiles

US Reports No Hantavirus Cases From Cruise Outbreak

Juliette Fairley is a freelance reporter for NTD and The Epoch Times and a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Born in Chateauroux, France, and raised outside of Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Juliette is a well-adjusted military brat. She has written for many publications across the country. Send Juliette story ideas at JulietteFairley@gmail.com

Juliette Fairley

Daniel Monaghan is a reporter for NTD News covering culture, social issues, and education. He holds a BA in Political Science and Government.

Daniel Monaghan

US News

Politics

Executive Branch

Rubio: China is ‘Top Geopolitical Challenge’

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

Jury Awards $49.5 Million to Family of Woman Killed in 2019 Boeing Max Crash

Andrew Moran has been writing about business, economics, and finance for more than a decade. He is the author of "The War on Cash."

Andrew Moran

China News

Trump Departs China After 2-Day Talks With Xi

Haika Mrema

Medical Plane Crash in New Mexico Mountains Kills 4, Sparks Wildfire

Accommodating, Enabling China’s Regime a Failed Strategy: China Expert

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 15)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.

Kevin Hogan

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 12)

President Trump Leaves for China Today; Calif. Mayor to Plead Guilty to Acting as CCP Agent | NTD Good Morning (May 12)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD Good Morning Full Broadcast (May 5)

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

Health News

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

Index fund giant Vanguard on Monday said it has narrowed support for shareholder resolutions on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, backing only 2 percent of such proposals at company meetings across the United States during the 2023 proxy season.

In a report on its most recent voting history, the $7.2 trillion asset manager said this year has seen a record number of ESG proposals being brought up for a vote.

According to Vanguard, U.S. shareholders submitted a total of 359 proposals on environmental and social topics this year, an increase by almost quarter compared to 290 in the previous year.

"The funds supported just 2 percent of such proposals in the 2023 proxy year, down from 12 percent in the 2022 proxy year," the Pennsylvania-based company said.

Many of those ESG proposals went "beyond requests for disclosure" and instead "sought specific actions from companies, including changes in company strategy or operations," Vanguard explained, stressing that it evaluated and voted against such proposals.

Vanguard noted that 150 shareholder proposals were related to environmental matters, among which the most common subject was setting greenhouse gas emission goals. Other common proposal topics focused on climate lobbying and fossil fuel financing, according to the report.

There were also 274 proposals on social topics such as "racial equity, reproductive rights, and pay gaps, with several notable proposals in the sector concerning unionization and worker safety," the investment firm added.

Despite the declining support for shareholders' ESG agendas, Vanguard insisted that its approach to evaluating proposals "has been consistent over time."

"Our focus remains on identifying proposals that address financially material risks at a given company, supporting proposals that may fill gaps in the company's current practices (while not intruding on company strategy and operations) and providing sufficient latitude to the company on implementation," it stated.
<h3>BlackRock Curbs Pro-ESG Votes</h3>
The drop in Vanguard's support for ESG proposals follows similar disclosures by other large competitors, most notably BlackRock, the world's largest money manager.

In a report released last week, BlackRock said it backed about 7 percent of ESG proposals at company meetings in the 12 months to June, a sharp drop from last year when it supported 22 percent and 2021 when it voted in favor of nearly half.

BlackRock's voting choices have drawn ire from progressive Democrats, who accused the company of failing to resist the pressure from anti-ESG Republicans. In Republican-led states from Texas to West Virginia, treasury officials have pulled billions of dollars in public pension funds out of BlackRock in distrust of the ESG-obssesed investment strategy.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a vocal proponent of ESG investing, told the Financial Times that BlackRock was caving in to a "misinformed and shortsighted war against ESG at the behest of special interests."

"BlackRock has a responsibility to use its votes to send a clear and consistent message regarding the need to manage climate-related and human-capital related risks," said Mr. Lander, who vowed to integrate ESG metrics into the management of the Big Apple's $248 billion pension funds.

BlackRock denied the claim that political pressure influenced its ESG voting, saying in a statement that its decisions were made "solely to advance the financial interests of our clients."

"For clients who would like to play a more active role in proxy voting themselves, we also have led the industry in providing them that option through our Voting Choice initiative," it added.

In June, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said he will no longer use the term "ESG," which he said has been "weaponized by the far-left and the far-right."

"I don't use the word ESG anymore, because it has been entirely weaponized," Mr. Fink, an advocate of so-called socially responsible "stakeholder capitalism," said in an interview at Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado.

"I'm a big believer that you have to focus on all your stakeholders," he said. "But I'm not going to use the word ESG because it has been misused."
<h3>Vanguard Leaves Climate Pact</h3>
In 2021, Vanguard joined the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM), an alliance of asset managers committed to push the industry toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. As of November 2022, NZAM had 291 signatories representing about $66 trillion worth of assets under management.

On Dec. 7, 2022, Vanguard announced its departure from NZAM, saying there had been confusion about the applicability of net-zero approaches to the diversified index funds favored by the company's clients.

"Therefore, after a considerable period of review, we have decided to withdraw from NZAM so that we can provide the clarity our investors desire about the role of index funds and about how we think about material risks, including climate-related risks—and to make clear that Vanguard speaks independently on matters of importance to our investors," Vanguard stated.

The decision to leave the environmentalist pact was largely seen as prompted by a November 2022 letter, in which attorneys general of 13 Republican-led states Vanguard urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to block Vanguard from buying shares in publicly traded electricity providers due to the firm's history of "environmental activism."

"The groups Vanguard joined (despite Vanguard's specific commitments to the commission) aim to shift global electricity production from natural gas and coal from approximately 67 percent of global electricity to approximately zero percent," the attorneys general wrote. "This will undoubtedly affect the cost and reliability of energy supplies."

The attorneys general represented Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah.

"Vanguard's own public commitments and other statements have at the very least created the appearance that Vanguard has breached its promises to the commission by engaging in environmental activism and using its financial influence to manipulate the activities of the utility companies in its portfolio," they added.

In May, the FERC said it has granted Vanguard's request to continue buying big stakes in U.S. power utilities, but didn't refer to concerns raised by the Republican attorneys general.

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/vanguard-joins-blackrock-to-cut-back-support-for-shareholders-esg-proposals-5482478">The Epoch Times</a></em>

Latest

SAN FRANCISCO

Videos

Business News

04_Top Stories

Latest Clips

Bill Pan is an Epoch Times reporter covering education issues and New York news.

Bill Pan

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.